Page:Digger Smith (C.J. Dennis, 1918).djvu/102

 "A little game uv Bridge," sez Peter Begg, "Would be more decent like, an' p'r'aps a keg Uv somethin' if the 'ero's feelin' dry. But this 'ere darncin'! Be the Hokey Fly, These selfish women never thinks at all About the guest; they only wants the ball.

"Now, cards," sez Begg, "amuses ev'ry one. An' then our soldier guest could 'ave 'is fun If 'e'd lost both 'is legs. It makes me sick— 'Ere! Don't yeh spread that candle-grease too thick. Yeh're wastin' it; an' us men 'as to buy Enough for nonsense, be the Hokey Fly!"

Begg, 'e ain't never keen on wastin' much. "Peter," I sez, "it's you that needs a crutch. Why don't yeh get a wife, an' settle down?" 'E looks reel fierce, an' answers, with a frown, "Do you think I am goin' to be rooked For 'arf me tucker, jist to get it cooked?"

I lets it go at that, an' does me job; An' when a little later on I lob Along the 'omeward track, down by Flood's gate I meet ole Digger Smith, an' stops to state Me views about the weather an' the war. . . . 'E tells me Jim gets 'ere nex' day, at four.